Sunday, August 1, 2010

UNISEX TOUR log IV: the drive west, OH times, my dog sings

what the eff is this?? you might say.

on our way home from New York City and we stop in Donteventellme, PA to fill 'er up. walking into the shop inside the gas station is like being hugged by a caricature of Sarah Palin. the love for America is palpable and thick. there is a log-cabin-style diner that looks warm and welcoming, though adjacent to the entrance there is a fluorescent-lit gun rack which kind of cancels that out. however amidst all the Bald Eagle hats and raccoon pelts is the magnificent situation that is pictured above.

i won't say much more than this: first i noticed it was a deer. then that it was wearing a deer hunter's hat and jacket. then i realized it was clutching a bottle of wine like a newborn human child does a baby bottle. i gagged and had Mikey take that picture with his phone.

later Dolores got us lost trying to find a Burger King, but thank goodness she did. through the Avalonic mists and across the tops of ye Shiny Sedans we saw the most majestic MFing Sheraton built to look like Camelot, and i guess to withstand the assault of barbarian hordes on their way from 5-star hotels.

Thursday we played the Rumba Cafe in Columbus, though not before bidding Mikey farewell (as i mentioned earlier, his skeellls were needed in South Bend) and welcoming Ryan (of Columbus' Bonneville) back into the fold for a night. we were joined by old friends and Austin, TX natives Chris and Gentry (Chris Hawkes online), who we met at Rumba in 2009 at our first show in C-bus, as well as Columbus' own Way Yes - think Paul Simon's Graceland/if Passion Pit were repopulated by the cast of Sesame Street - and Maza Blaska - like if George Harrison got lost in the American desert and wrote a concept album about it.

Friday we came home. i have never felt more welcome in my own city. i mean i, as WALK THE MOON, have never felt quite so welcomed in by a Cincinnati audience. Baba Budan's bar/coffee shop, nestled more or less on the University's campus, was filled with people having a good time. all the musicians that played that night were fantastic and just great people - Honneycombs, my close friend Serenity Fisher, and Chris and Gentry. in a short solo set, i tipped my hat to former guitarist Nick Lerangis and did a cover of Nina Simone's "Be My Husband" before being joined by an altogether different lineup: F. Castro doppleganger/bassist Parker and talented newbies guitarist Chris and drummer Dave.

quick aside: before i had become reaquainted with them this year, the last time i knew Chris his band Winner's Circle was kicking my band's ass in the Underground Fall Brawl 2006 and the last time i encountered Dave he was ass-naked streaking across his parent's backyard in Milford sometime in high school.

anyway, we finished and everyone got down to Tactical Tabernacle, the dance band that makes everything up on the spot, every time. i got to join them on synth briefly when someone requested the Mortal Kombat theme. GET OVER HERE! ...anyone? Buehler?

we crashed in the wee hours and the next morning i made Chris and Gentry play for my parents, and then we made our dog Giuseppe sing them "Hey Jude". it was a magical time.